Covens, Jean & Mortier, Corneille.
Insula Ceylon olim Taprobana. "Carte de l'Isle de Ceylan.. Asia: Amsterdam Covens et Mortier c1741. Copper engraved map of Ceylon, Sri Lanka from Covens & Mortier's " Nieuwe Atlas, Inhoudennde vier Gedeeltens der Waereld.. " Original full wash colour; verso blank. The map after Guillaume de l'Isle shows the island of Sri Lanka, Ceylon, with part of the coast of India, it first appeared in 1730 Black & white [as issued], strap work title cartouche and strap work mile scale. Dark impression; full wash colour; printed on heavy paper; minor paper faults (thinning) to sea, only perceptable when held to light; old red crayon number to verso Covens & Mortier as a firm existed between 1721-1778, taking over the business of Pierrre Mortier. Johannes / Jean Covens and Cornelius Mortier were brothers- in- law following the former's marriage to Mortier's sister Agatha in 1721, when they also formally went in to partnership. Under the Covens and Mortier imprint, Cornelius and Jean republished the works of the great 17th and early 18th century Dutch and French cartographers De L'Isle, Allard, Jansson, & De Wit. The firm would become one of the most prolific Dutch publishing concerns of the 18th century. The company would pass down through the Covens family as Mortier had no children, changing the name to Covens & Zoon until Pieter Mortier IV a great grandson of the original founder joined the firm and saw the name restored to Mortier Covens & Zoon. ( See Koeman I p45). Guillaume de l'Isle (1675-1726) was the son of a cartographer and pupil of Jean Dominique Cassini, who, among other important contributions, aligned the study of astronomy to the study of geography. Under Cassini's direction, observations were made from locations all over the world that enabled longitudinal calculations to be made with much greater accuracy. De l'Isle carried on this exacting work with remarkable dedication and integrity, constantly revising and improving his maps. While precision was his primary goal, his maps are invariably elegant and attractive. The French cartographer Guillaume de l'Isle (1675−1726) was admitted into the French Académie Royale des Sciences when he was 27 years old and subsequently became the first person to receive the title Premier Géographe du Roi (principal geographer to the king). At the time de l'Isle was engaged in cartographic research, the prestige of a cartographer and the authority of his maps were gauged by the veracity of the cartographer's sources, i.e., the explorers and travelers who reported details of their travels to geographers and cartographers in Europe. Many of de l'Isle's maps were reissued by the publishing house of Cornelis Mortier and Johannes Coven in Amsterdam in their Atlas Nouveau, which was published in multiple editions, the earliest of which dates to 1730. Koeman I: C&M 8:92, [C&M 10] Asia Ceylon Sri Lanka
[Bookseller: Mary Louise Bryan/Paralos Gallery]